June 15, 2026: Possible Kirkwood veto, $500K in grants, new planning director, jail-site group, Seminary Pointe demolition clock

Civic Solver

This week’s puzzle is a word search for restaurants that have been lost from downtown Bloomington in the last few years.

Weather Talk

Based on the National Weather Service forecast in text and charts here’s some advice.

Monday: Slow down. Don’t move so fast. The idea is not to make the morning last. It’s to keep from crashing into stuff because of patchy fog that’s in the forecast before 9 a.m. Then it will turn sunny, with a high near 74F°.

Tuesday: You can get away without taking an umbrella in the morning, but only if you know for sure you’ll get back home before around 5 p.m. That’s when chances of scattered rain and thunderstorms start to bump up to around 50%. Later Tuesday evening that will increase to around 70%. The high will be around 77F°

Sign up for weather alerts: Monroe County emergency alert system

Recent articles

• Sunday Funnies: Hawk v. Fish.  How did Fish get to be so smart? In this episode we find out the hilarious reason.
• Monroe County property transfers through June 10, 2026.  This report includes new property transfers in Monroe County that haven’t previously been reported by The B Square, with dates ranging from April 24 to June 10, 2026. The data in this report comes from Beacon, the county’s online geographic information system for property and parcel data.
• Ahead of decision on veto: June 16 meeting about Kirkwood to be hosted by Bloomington mayor.  Bloomington mayor Kerry Thomson will host a June 16 community conversation before deciding whether to sign or veto a 5–4 council ordinance closing five blocks of Kirkwood Avenue to cars from April 1 to Nov. 15 each year, starting April 21, 2027.
• Bloomington council awards $500K to social service agencies.  At its meeting on Wednesday, Bloomington’s city council approved $499,995 in Jack Hopkins social service grants to 35 agencies. Councilmember Dave Rollo warned that inflation is eroding the fund’s value as demand grows.
• Lynn Coyne named interim Bloomington planning director.  Bloomington mayor Kerry Thomson is naming longtime attorney and former IU real estate official Lynn Coyne as interim planning and transportation director. If confirmed by the plan commission, Coyne will start in July, succeeding David Hittle, who leaves July 10 for a Charlotte post.
• City, county officials launch working group to recommend new jail site inside of a month.  Bloomington and Monroe County council members voted June 11 to join a public working group with other officials to recommend a new jail site within a month. The move follows two county council rejections of North Park and the expiration of a long-running ACLU jail settlement.
• Seminary Pointe demolition clock starts as downtown Bloomington land-swap hopes continue.  Demolition notices posted at Seminary Pointe have triggered Bloomington’s 90-day demolition-delay review, even as housing advocates push a land swap to preserve the block’s low-cost apartments and businesses. Any land swap would have to be decided by Bloomington's RDC and the Monroe County CIB.

Other Important Notes

School board elections. Three MCCSC school board seats are up for election this year. The deadline for filing is (Thursday) June 18 by noon. Candidates for the seats that are up for election have to live in District 1, District 3, or District 7. Here’s a useful link: MCCSC school board districts.

On the calendar

Showers West: Mediating lease buyouts. On the 5 p.m. Monday (June 15) agenda for Bloomington’s redevelopment commission (RDC) is an item that would authorize either the city’s corporation counsel or a member of the RDC, or both, to participate in mediation that could lead to a settlement in the case of lawsuits won in Monroe County circuit court by two tenants in Showers West. The city has appealed both of those decisions, but other than the notice of appeals, there are no other filings yet for the appeals case. For B Square background, see: Bloomington RDC loses two Showers West lease disputes in Monroe circuit court

Mayor’s regular town hall. At 6 p.m. on Monday (June 15) at the Monroe County History Center (202 E. 6th St.) Bloomington mayor Kerry Thomson will be hosting a regular every two-month town hall.

Mayor’s meeting on Kirkwood veto. In city council chambers on Tuesday (June 16) 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. Bloomington’s mayor, Kerry Thomson will be hosting a meeting focused on getting feedback about a potential decision to veto the city council’s ordinance that would close Kirkwood Avenue to car traffic from Indiana Avenue to Walnut Street for seven months of the year. The format is supposed to be more informal than the three-minutes-at-the-mic format that’s familiar from city council meetings. On For B Square background, see: Ahead of decision on veto: June 16 meeting about Kirkwood to be hosted by Bloomington mayor

Regular Bloomington Transit board meeting. No agenda is yet posted for the regular meeting of the Bloomington Transit board at 5:30 p.m. But it’s almost certain to include an update from staff about the first couple of weeks of the new marketing campaign. For B Square background, see: Bloomington Transit rolls out broader on-demand service, now includes even Griffy Lake

Taste of Bloomington street closing approval. On the 5:30 p.m. Tuesday (June 16) meeting agenda for the board of public works are several routine street closure items, but those are one way to keep up with happenings around town, like the planned Taste of Bloomington for 2026, which is set for Aug. 1. The event would shut down Kirkwood Avenue from Indiana Avenue to Walnut Street, plus some of the side streets between there.

The board will be displaced from its regular meeting location in city council chambers to the McCloskey Conference Room, because Bloomington mayor Kerry Thomson will be hosting a meeting on the topic of a possible veto of the Kirkwood closure ordinance at that time.

Lake Lemon Shoreline Sessions: June 21. Live music, lakeside vibes and Sunday relaxation are planned for Sunday, June 21, from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. at Riddle Point Park on Lake Lemon. The lineup includes the Ben Cartha Fowler Project, Salaam, and Claire Pendreigh. Bring a chair; outside food and drink are welcome. Tickets are $22.66.

Bingo Brunch at Cardinal Spirits: June 28. It’s every Sunday 12-2 p.m. at Cardinal Spirits: Bingo Brunch with celebrity callers! You might wonder: What is the Cardinal Spirits definition of celebrity? It needs to be flexible enough to include ... me, the founder of The B Square. I plan to apply all the principles I have learned about government meeting procedures to bingo calling—in the best possible way! You have never heard letters and numbers sound so great. What kind of prizes can you win? How about a hat?

Carwash fundraiser: July 18. Is your car filthy? Big Brothers Big Sisters of South Central Indiana invites the community to support the 17th Annual Crew for Kids fundraiser on Saturday, July 18, 2026, with a rain date of Saturday, July 25. For one day only, visit a participating Crew Carwash location and purchase an Ultimate or Ultimate 360 wash. Fifty percent of the cost will be donated directly to Big Brothers Big Sisters, helping join Bigs and Littles together for effective mentorship and impacting lives for the better through meaningful one-to-one relationships. Bloomington participants can visit Crew Carwash at 235 South Pete Ellis Drive or 3430 West 3rd Street.

Meet Mr. Anderson!

This very, very good boy is a Labrador-husky mix. Here’s what the shelter staff have written about Mr. Anderson:

Mr. Anderson is a silly and lively young dog who lots of husky-type sass and energy!

Photo Finish: Indiana Avenue & 6th Street

The Photo Finish items are drawn from the B There section of the B Square website.

Thanks for reading. I hope your week is off to a great start!

Dave Askins
734-645-2633
dave@bsquarebulletin.com

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